Business

Almost 54 chartered accountants and company secretaries have come under the radar of the Income Tax department and the Enforcement Directorate over money laundering through shell companies, say India Today's sources.

The professionals will soon face the ire of ED over the laundering of around Rs 11,000 crore. ED on Tuesday arrested two people Virendra and Surendra Jain in connection with the case.

The department will soon interrogate others and will likely to take action under provisions of the Money Laundering Act.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's crackdown on black money hoarders will see another critical juncture on March 31 when the window to declare unaccounted money under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojna (PMGKY) closes this month.

PMGKY is an amnesty scheme under which one can disclose unaccounted cash and deposits, and avoid punishment by paying 50 per cent of the disclosed amount as tax, and depositing 25 per cent in an interest-free scheme for four years.

The Income Tax department today published advertisements in national newspapers urging black money hoarders to come clean within the specified time frame.

The department has warned that those black money holders who do not declare their illegal assets under the PMGKY scheme will " regret later".

The department has promised "confidentiality" for those who come forward to disclose their illegal wealth. The I-T department has warned that they have "information" about those who have stashed black money.